Shepherd’s Pie, made with ground beef or lamb, gravy and vegetables smothered in mashed potatoes – what could be easier? And a big casserole of it feeds quite a few people. So when I started wondering this morning about what to make for dinner with the pound of ground beef I had in the fridge, this popped into my mind. And I had several containers of mushrooms to be used before they deteriorate.
“But how to make it just a little healthier” I thought. We don’t eat a lot of white potatoes for dietary reasons, and I wanted it to have fresh vegetables. Well, I don’t have a ton of fresh veggies on hand for it, but I do have a few freezer packages of mixed vegetables that steam in their pouch. Almost as good a fresh right? If I had chosen to make it even healthier, I could have used ground turkey, but my beef is pretty lean, and I did not have to drain off any excess fat.
(If, like me, you keep a container in the freezer to save bits of this and that – a tablespoon of this vegetable or 1/4 cup of that vegetable left over from a meal, this is also a good use for those mixes of frozen veggies).
I started with a typical base – onion and garlic sauteed, this time in a little bacon fat (I know, not as healthy, but it adds flavor!). Lots of fresh herbs from the container outside my back door, better than dried herbs, I thought. Experiment with the herbs you have – thyme would also have been nice! A little beef bone broth, water and a bit of flour will make the gravy right in the pan on top of the onion, garlic, mushrooms and beef. Lot of flavor with a little tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, and stir in that bag of frozen veggies.
For the top, not plain white mashed potatoes, but several sweet potatoes mashed along with only a couple medium white potatoes. Add the same herbs used in the base to echo the herbs in the base, along with a little garlic and onion powder. I top with a few wheat crackers crushed up, and spritzed with cooking spray to make them crisp up for a little crunch on top. Start the potatoes cooking first, so while they simmer you can be making the meat base.
Make mashed potatoes however you normally would. I use a mixer and whip them well, rather than mashing by hand or with a ricer. Any method works – just make them creamy to spread over the top of the meat mix. And if you want to bump it up a notch further, add some roasted garlic or grate in some Parmesan cheese.
All this filled up my cast iron chicken fryer – far too much to fit into the pie plate I originally thought to use! Try this next time you have a crowd to feed. Or even at a hot plate church supper. The chicken fryer basically makes it a one pot meal, except for the 2nd pot used to cook the potatoes.
And lastly, I confess – my new Kitory Vegetable Cleaver came, and I just really needed a reason to chop up some vegetables with it!
Bake until lightly browned and the edges are all hot and bubbling. Serve with a side salad and maybe some rolls or biscuits for a delightful dinner.
Updated Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato topping
a Quintessential Shepherd's pie made with ground beef, and veggies in gravy, with a sweet potato mix on top. When made in a cast iron chicken fryer it's a one dish meal!
Ingredients
Meat pie base
- 2 tbsp olive oil, bacon fat, or fat of your choice
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1-2 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 -12 oz fresh mushrooms of your choice – white button, cremini, oyster, shiitake or a mix – cleaned and sliced
- 1 pound ground beef, ground lamb or ground turkey
- 1-2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chipped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth, or water mixed with beef bone broth concentrate or bouillon
- 1-2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1- oz package steam fresh mixed vegetables
Potato top
- 3 -4 sweet potatoes, medium size
- 2 russet potatoes, medium size
- cold water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp assorted chopped herbs – rosemary, parsley, dill,
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup milk or cream
- 4-5 wheat crackers, crushed
- cooking spray, as needed
Instructions
Meat filling
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Heat the fat over medium heat in a large skillet or cast iron chicken fryer (for one pot cooking). Add in the onion, & celery – saute until softened. Add in the garlic and mushrooms, stirring to combine, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Crumble in the ground meat in large chunks, and mix in. Cooke 4-5 minutes, stirring once or twice to brown the meat. If there is a lot of fat, drain off.
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Add in the fresh herbs, tomato paste, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Stir in.
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Mix the flour into the water/broth to make a slurry and add to the pan. Lower heat to medium low, and stir in to thicken the broth, making the gravy. Add a little more water or broth if it becomes too thick, or doesn't make enough gravy.
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Add in the vegetables thawed or still frozen, and stir in
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Cool slightly while you make the potatoes.
Make the potatoes while the meat cooks
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Peel and chop up the potatoes into 1 1/2 -2 inch pieces. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Add in 1 tbsp salt. Cook until quite soft.
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Drain the potatoes well. In the cooking pot or a large bowl, whip the potatoes up until mashed. Add in the butter and stir to melt most of it; add in seasonings, and use the mixer to whip once more. Finally add in the milk or cream, and whip well until no limps remain. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed.
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Put the meat base in a large casserole (spray with cooking spray) or leave in the cast iron chicken fryer. Top with all the mashed potatoes.
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Sprinkle with the crushed crackers, and spritz with cooking spray.
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Bake, uncovered, in 350F oven for 45 minutes or until potatoes & crackers are lightly browned and have crispy edges.